Bruno

I’m stepping away from the kitchen today to pay tribute to a very special member of our family. Bruno passed away last November and I wanted to share with you a brief look into his very full life.

I know that many of you reading this are loyal and loving dog parents and understand how great the loss is when one of your babies passes. I also know that many of you are familiar with Bruno since he made lots of appearances here on the blog over the years.

We lost Bruno last November and I just couldn’t bare to write this post over the holidays. So, time has gone on and I felt it was time to pay him tribute through these pictures. Over the course of the past year I’ve witnessed some truly devastating tragedies that have affected the lives of friends so it seemed almost inappropriate to write this post at all, so thank you for indulging me and for all of your kind words.

He came to us when he was just a small pup and instantly decided he was okay with his big sister, Heidi (on the left). As you can see from this photo, Heidi wasn’t so sure but she soon grew to love him back.

We brought Bruno home shortly after our oldest son, Ryan (holding Bruno in the photo below), left for college and I joked with him that Bruno was his replacement. Little did I know at the time what a phenomenal job this little guy would do of helping me through that time. It is clear to me that these sweet souls enter our lives just when we need them.

Here are things we will remember most about him.

He was a happy member of the pack of boys and loved all “the brothers” so much.

He loved hanging out with us in the backyard.

He loved visiting the cabin each summer and digging in the sand.

Like all of our Bostons, he was a water dog and loved the river.

Sometimes you just have to jump in and start swimming!

He loved hiking and he loved his Daddy.

He loved the annual trip to cut down the Christmas tree.

He really, really loved opening presents on Christmas.

After grieving the loss of his sweet sister, Heidi, he grew to love his new sister, Bridget (the teeny pup on the left).

He loved playing in the water from the hose. Joyous!

And, he loved me. And, I loved him back.. so, so much.

He was a joyful, loving, truly special boy and I still think of him every single day.